Jobs, education in 21st century

Thursday

Sep 27, 2012 at 3:15 AM

When I ran for the NH Senate I said that job growth was priority #1. That remains true today as 23 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed. The latest figures in August revealed that four times as many Americans gave up looking for work as found jobs. Nearly 42,000 of our friends and neighbors are out of work in New Hampshire.

Furthermore a recent study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute called the China Toll indicates that over 20,000 NH jobs were lost or displaced to China over the past ten years. This is equal to 2.94 percent of the state's total employment, which is the largest percentage, by state, in the country.

My thirty years in the Hampton School District, confirmed that to have a successful economy we must have vibrant schools that prepare students to the international challenges they face. That is why as a member of the Senate and chair of the Education Committee, I have focused on education policy that treats taxpayers fairly, holds educators accountable, provides choices for students and parents, and encourages education excellence.

First, legislation I co-sponsored and wrote blocked the return of donor towns. The return of donor towns was a threat hanging over the Seacoast and every taxpayer in this region. I insisted that the new formula which prevented return of donor towns be focused on the individual needs of the student and have a component to improve reading proficiency for third graders. At the same time it provided a methodology that allowed local school districts to calculate state support. Passage of this bipartisan legislation was in my view one of the top accomplishments of the past legislative session.

Secondly, legislation I sponsored extensively creates a new formula for distributing state dollars for school construction. This new formula takes into consideration actual need of every community seeking these dollars while fitting into the biannual appropriation rather than having the state bond the money over a twenty year period. As readers may recall state aid for school building was going to communities that could afford to build new schools but severely needy New Hampshire communities were largely left out because they could not afford the local match. Students in these antiquated schools suffered while other districts built lavishly with state subsidies. I trust voters also recall, in the previous budget the $90 million state price tag for this program was bonded instead of as always previously being an operating expense- a major contributing factor of the large budget deficit we faced in 2011 and the $15m payback cost for the next twenty years is taken off the top of the Rooms &Meals tax shortchanging money that could be returned to communities.

Third, despite the large budget deficit we faced, I made it clear that an income tax or a sales tax was a jobs killer and should not be considered. We made difficult decisions to balance our budget within existing revenue and protected the New Hampshire Advantage. When the national economy finally starts to recover, our tax advantage NH will be poised to recover quickly. As your senator I will not vote for a sales or income tax or the return of divisive donor towns!

When returned to the Senate I will continue to focus on educational quality. Most recently I sat with teachers, principals, school administrators and parents as the development of a model teacher and administrator evaluation process was successfully accomplished. We need to make sure New Hampshire's students are trained in the careers of the future — whether they are on a college or work track. I am a strong proponent of innovation in education. When our state — the first in the nation — stopped using the "Carnegie Unit" it was replaced with a competency-based learning model as the way to determine when students achieve proficiency of content. This is a more flexible, accountable, and ultimately a successful measure that actually tracks achievement, not time, as the benchmark.

This must translate into our post-secondary education system. Right now, New Hampshire students can go to school anywhere in the world and learn specific tasks suited for the emerging job market. Our colleges and universities must adjust and strive to be leaders in these markets. We have a quality-of-life that is tops in the country, and have been cited as one of the top 10 states for young people to live. If we are enticing these students to come (and stay) in New Hampshire, we have a better chance to retain them.

However, despite all that, without the jobs, our quality-of-life can only do so much. Therefore, we must be more active, through our Department of Resources and Economic Development, in recruiting companies to our state. Like all states, New Hampshire has its pros and cons for business. We must work to make sure we emphasize those positives, while being a partner with businesses in helping them overcome challenges.

I believe government's role in regards to business is simple — ready an educated workforce and create an environment where entrepreneurs can grow and thrive, while still providing safeguards for people's health, welfare, and safety. When government facilitates growth, businesses grow and we, as a state, succeed.

State Sen. Nancy Stiles

District 24

Hampton

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